FERNOX F3 - How long to leave?

[Richie866]

Pretty straight forward question really, I'm looking at flushing my system out while I go away for a month. Would F3 be ok to be left in the system for that time? Would the results be better or would it degrade over that period?

Cheers!

 

[D_Hailsham]

Fernox say you can leave it in for a week under the normal heating cycle. As you, presumably, will not be leaving the heating on while you are away, I can't see any harm leaving it in for a month. It's neutral or slightly alkali product, so it will not attack the metal in your system.

 

[Richie866]

I was thinking of leaving the heating on, say for an hour a day to get it pumped around the system - good move or not?

 

[mickyg]

won;t do it any harm, but to be honest you'll get better results using something like X800 for 24hours.
The fact that you can leave it in so long tells you something about how effective its likely to be
I only use F3 on new installs as a boost to a hot flush(removing flux and debris). Wouldn't rely on it to breakdown and remove sludge/iron oxides etc.

 

[Richie866]

Cheers Mick, thanks for your advice, I've bought it now though! Do you reckon it would work better the longer I leave it, and would it work better with the heating on?

 

[D_Hailsham]

They certainly work better with the heat on.

Leave it in for the month with the heating running for an hour every day while you are away.

When you come back from holiday, drain the system and flush through with cold water until it runs clear.

If the water is still not clean, try again with a stronger cleaner, ex X800. But if you don't want the heating on in the middle of summer, it might be better to wait until the beginning of the heating season.

Whatever you do, make sure you add inhibitor before using the system for any appreciable time.

 

[Richie866]

Thanks everyone, all advice most appreciated